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For Chelsea, Small Consolation

Rafa Benitez, the Chelsea manager, after a game against Manchester United at Old Trafford Stadium on May 5.Credit Jon Super/Associated Press

This was not the championship match that Chelsea had in mind.

One year after winning the UEFA Champions League, the club will compete in the Europa League final in Amsterdam on Wednesday. The reigning European champions became the first holders of the European Cup to fail to advance past the group stage of the tournament earlier this season.

That dropped Chelsea into the Europa League, considered the less prestigious of the two main club competitions in Europe. The Blues will have the opportunity to claim some silverware when they take on Portuguese side Benfica in a match that they would love to win, but wish they had never reached.

By its lofty standards, Chelsea has had a disappointing season. It won none of the seven competitions in which it was scheduled to compete, including semifinals losses in both domestic cups and a likely third-place finish in the Premier League.

The team’s third-place finish in its Champions League group last fall earned it a spot in an eighth tournament, the Europa League. It also led to the firing of Champions League-winning coach Roberto Di Matteo in November.

That began what has been a rollercoaster of a season for Chelsea.

Di Matteo’s replacement, interim coach Rafa Benitez, has been openly jeered by the team’s fans. The club has already competed in 66 games in eight competitions in 10 countries, the highest totals of any major European club. So far, Chelsea has zero trophies to show for it. With just one week left in the season, Benitez and the club are desperate to salvage something from an otherwise forgettable year.

Which brings us back to the Europa League final. Chelsea is in the unique position of desperately wanting a victory in a match it never wanted to play. It is Kentucky in the N.I.T. rather than the N.C.A.A. tournament, or Brazil competing in the bronze-medal match at the World Cup. On Wednesday, Chelsea’s players will be playing for a prize they feel is beneath them.

“Since we were out from the group in the Champions League, every time I watch the games I think it’s a shame, but on the other hand I would rather be positive and think we have a chance to win another trophy,” midfielder Juan Mata said on Chelsea’s website. “For me, our aim is to win this trophy and to be in the Champions League next season.”

A 2-1 victory at Aston Villa on Saturday all but assured Chelsea of that. Against Benfica, the club will attempt to become the first team ever to hold both major European club trophies at the same time (this season’s Champions League final will not occur until May 25).

It would be a fine accomplishment, but not one that Chelsea wanted.

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Goal, The New York Times soccer blog, will report on news and features from the world of soccer and around the Web. Times editors and reporters will follow international tournaments and provide analysis of games. There will be interviews with players, coaches and notable soccer fans, as well as a weekly blog column by Red Bulls forward Jozy Altidore. Readers can discuss Major League Soccer, foreign leagues and other issues with fellow soccer fans.